Drance Numbers is the silly research wing of PITB. While Messrs. Wagner and Mooney blog nationally and solve mysteries, Drance Numbers will look into the minutiae of quantifiable NHL data and bore you with it every Friday. Today, Drance looks at what Cory Schneider’s first 50 games tell us about his future in the NHL.

Some time ago, Kevin Bieksa let it slip that every member of the Canucks had an animal nickname. He even gave us a line on a few: David Booth was Grizzly, Ryan Kesler was Bull, Keith Ballard was Wolf, Alex Edler was Eagle, and Jannik Hansen was the Honey Badger.

As for the rest, we were left to speculate wildly. Were the Sedins red pandas? Who is Fox? Was Sami Salo the poisonous Finnish snake that once bit him? Short of additional clues, there was simply no way of knowing.

Lucky for us, David Booth provided one such clue following Thursday night’s 4-3 victory over the Montreal Canadiens, praising the play of one “Whitetail”.

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The Canucks season is over and all that's left is to ponder what might have been. What if Willie Desjardins had given the Sedins more ice time earlier in the season? What if Eddie Lack had been brought in for Game 6? What if Desjardins' counter-intuitive lineup decisions had paid off? […]

The Canucks are down 2-1 to the Flames in the playoffs, which means it's time for everyone to start second-guessing Willie Desjardins. The number one topic is his use of the Sedins, who are averaging less ice time than they had in the regular season, apparently to keep them "fresh". […]

The Canucks are back in the playoffs and facing an old rival in the Calgary Flames. This year, the playoffs feel wide open, with no prohibitive favourite to win the Stanley Cup, giving Canucks fans hope that they can defy the odds and go on a long playoff run. […]

The Canucks defeated the Kings in a crucial game on Monday night, potentially leaving the defending Stanley Cup Champions outside of the playoffs. It was close and hard-fought, proving that the Canucks can compete with the Kings if they do end up meeting in the first round. […]